Saturday, January 17, 2015

Toll Road Executives Set To Receive Big Bonuses If Toll Road Sale Hits Target Sale Price

Earlier this week, there was a story about retention bonuses being offered to all of the Indiana Toll Road employees who stay employed with the concessionaire through the closing on a bankruptcy sale of the long-term leasing rights ranging from as little as $19,675 a piece to as high as $95,000. It's now being reported the concessionaire's CEO Fernando Redondo and the top four executives working under him will share a $1 million bonus if the toll road's sale reaches $4.5 billion in addition to their retention bonuses. If the sale price reaches $6 billion, the executives stand to share a bonus pool of $3 million. Even if the toll road sells for less than $4.5 billion, the four executives other than Redondo will share a $300,000 bonus.

The Northwest Indiana Times report indicates the filing made by the special committee conducting the sale of the bankrupt toll road is anticipating it will fetch a sale price well above the $3.8 billion the concessionaire paid to the state of Indiana. According to the filing, the executive will participate in a wide range of activities concerning the sale, including assisting the Indiana Finance Authority in transitioning the toll road to a new operator.

I think this point bears repeating. Gov. Mitch Daniels told the people of Indiana this toll road would revert back to the state if the private concessionaire went bankrupt. That was a total lie, and he knew it was a total lie when he made that claim. Only the banks who got suckered into loaning the Macquarie Group money to buy the toll road came up short. All of Mitch's buddies made plenty off of this deal. Governments in Europe who bailed out the failed banks paid the price for this debacle.

On this company called Meridiam, which Mayor Ballard wants to let build a new criminal justice center, and which seems to have its tentacles dug deeply into top state officials and the city of Indianapolis, who pays if it goes bankrupt? The taxpayers. Where does Meridiam get its money? It gets its money from public retirement funds like the Indiana Teacher's Retirement Fund for starts. Public pension funds across the country is the primary source from which the French-based company is getting its money to buy all of these public projects across the United States. The corruption of these P3 deals runs deep across this country. Meridiam, by the way, is also vying to build the Illiana Expressway, which will cost Indiana taxpayers dearly if it's ever built.

4 comments:

Flogger said...

To the Congress:
Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people.

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.

Both lessons hit home.

Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.

This concentration is seriously impairing the economic effectiveness of private enterprise as a way of providing employment for labor and capital and as a way of assuring a more equitable distribution of income and earnings among the people of the nation as a whole.

Message to Congress on Curbing Monopolies by F.D.R. April 29, 1938.
=================================
The situation since FDR's warning has only become worse. The tentacles of Crony-Capitalism reach deep from Local Government to around the world today. The massive influx of Campaign Contributions effectively silence those who are not a part of furthering the interests of the Shadow Government of Crony-Capitalists. We have whether we like it or not Fascism.

Anonymous said...

Who's financing this deal? Are the counties still on with a take-over and do they have redemption with promises made and not fulfilled.
Advise

Anonymous said...

this is a big eye opener. first, the employees who stay and are offered a retention bonus (not all are) will receive an AVERAGE of 19,675, not a minimum.

Please clarify the last sentence of your first paragraph, you are stating they will share a $300million bonus, I think you meant $300,000 bonus?

Gary R. Welsh said...

Yes, It's $300,000. Thanks for the correction.